Chinese automakers are pushing to establish factories in Europe
Image: BYD
BYD is looking for existing automobile factories in Europe that it could purchase and modernize as part of its electric vehicle expansion. According to Alfredo Altavilla, BYD’s European advisor, Chinese competitors are also examining similar locations. He told Automotive News that existing manufacturing plants could enable production to begin much more quickly than building a new factory from scratch.
For BYD, Spain and France are currently considered the “most feasible” options, as the conditions there are significantly simpler according to Altavilla. The key factor is primarily how much it would cost to modernize a selected site. “We need to find something we can buy and restore quickly with relatively little money,” said the manager.
A large BYD team is reportedly working on feasibility studies for the sites under consideration. Altavilla himself visits factories across Europe regularly and has reported encountering representatives of competing companies there as well. Chinese manufacturers have already reached several agreements to use European production lines, including Leapmotor and Dongfeng with Stellantis, Geely with Ford, and Chery with a local partner.
The location search is taking place while work is being done in Brussels on the “Made in Europe” rules. These yet-to-be-finalized regulations could set minimum quotas for locally produced components in electric vehicles sold within the EU. BYD is pursuing a different approach from those Chinese competitors, aiming to buy an existing factory, own it outright, and modernize it.
The production at the company’s first European automobile plant in Hungary is currently in its initial phase. According to Altavilla, BYD plans to select a location for a second European facility by the end of the year. In the long term, the company needs “three assembly plants and one battery plant” in Europe. Besides Spain and France, BYD is also considering other countries. Italy is now only considered a “Plan B” because Stellantis, per Altavilla, is not willing to sell plants there.
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Thomas Langenbucher is an expert in electromobility with experience in the automotive and financial industries. Since 2011, he has been covering electric vehicles, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions for ecomento.de. Learn more.
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